Speaker Profile: Dr Phil Hammond
Phil Hammond qualified as a doctor in 1987,
became a GP in 1991 and has also worked in
sexual health. He was half of Struck Off and Die,
who had five sell-out shows at the Edinburgh
Fringe, were twice selected for the Perrier Pick of
the Fringe and won Writers‟ Guild and Silver Sony
Awards for their Radio 4 series. In 2002, Phil
fronted "28 Minutes to Save the NHS" on Radio 4,
which he extended to a sell out Edinburgh Fringe
Show, "59 Minutes to Save the NHS" and further
extended to a highly successful 60-date UK tour
"89 Minutes to Save the NHS".
Phil has written Private Eye‟s medical column,
'Doing the Rounds', since 1992, and broke the
story of the Bristol heart scandal. He gave
evidence to the subsequent Public Inquiry and presented five series of "Trust Me, I‟m
a Doctor" on BBC 2, exposing wide variations in care across the NHS. The second
edition of the book of his experiences, "Trust Me, I‟m a Doctor", is published by
Metro.
He has survived Ruby Wax and "Have I Got News For You" (seven times), has
appeared five times on "The News Quiz" and was the only doctor to appear for the
prosecution on Channel 4‟s "Doctors on Trial". Phil has been reported to the General
Medical Council by William Hague‟s Press Secretary.
Phil's first sitcom, "Doctors and Nurses", co-written with Nigel Smith, was broadcast
on BBC 1 in 2004.
Phil is much in demand as a speaker, facilitator and conference chair, and was
recently described by Professor Michael Rawlins, Chair of NICE, as “the best chair
we‟ve ever had”.
He has recently been on Rob Brydon‟s "Annually Retentive" (BBC3), fronts his own
show for BBC Radio Bristol and presents "The Music Group" on Radio 4
(Wednesday 1.30pm). His latest book, "Medicine Balls" – „a semi-autobiographical,
medico-political, self-help comedy novel with poems‟ – is just published. He has been
a Lecturer in Medical Communication at the Universities of Birmingham and Bristol
and currently works as a part time GP in the Bristol area.
Phil is married to Jo, also a GP, and has two children, two Labradors, two cats, a
pony and a full head of ginger hair.